Corduk
Corduk was a Toa of Earth of Powai Nuian origin, the former Head Guard of the KCO, and the current deputy of the island's Toa team, the Toa Powai. Highly involved in fighting off the Wraith Syndicate and a major combatant in the Leskya-Powai War. Originally the third-in-command of his Toa team, he took up the mantle of his team's deputy after the former deputy, Detras, disappeared at the end of the Leskya-Powai War. History Early History Like many of his species, Corduk assisted in the creation of the Matoran Universe the moment he was created as an Onu-Matoran by the Great Beings. After its completion, he was placed on the remote island of Powai Nui and settled in (which was then unnamed) and lived there for many years, and became a miner as many Onu-Matoran did. As the island fractured into warring Matoran tribes, miners were in greater danger than most since other tribes targeted them to hamper the flow of important geological resources. Not standing for this, Corduk trained himself and other miners to watch for attackers and devised strategies to survive and/or drive off any possible assaults. Corduk later put his acquired defensive skills to use by joining the Kakkan Containment Organization as a guard. Over the years he became more skillful and dutiful in his job, and after being accepted as the organization's best guard he was promoted to the Head Guard of the entire facility. During this time, he became close friends with Navahko, the Ko-Matoran Supervisor of the organization. Formation of the Toa Powai When a mysterious being captured the Le-Matoran forest ranger Lewok and interrogated him about the Staff of Vortices, Corduk was alerted since the staff was in the hands of the KCO. As president Kakkan was preoccupied with other business, Corduk discussed the matter with Navahko. After Corduk informed him that Lewok was at the facility healing from injuries, the two went to the ranger's makeshift recovery room to keep him company and obtain more information about what was happening with the Staff of Vortices. They discovered that the being who had captured the Le-Matoran was a Dark Hunter named "Alchemist." When "Alchemist", Phi, and Ruthos raided the KCO's tunnel once again, Corduk resisted them alongside a platoon of armed guards. His platoon was hit with one of "Alchemist"'s potions of Confusion, caused them to become too disorientated to put up a fight against the three as they stole the Staff of Vortices and escaped. He was then invited to the Citadel of the Avesians in Vo-Powai, where Toa Maroona explained to him and five other Matoran that they were all chosen by the Kupurero to become Toa. After nearly an hour of contemplation, all of the Matoran accepted the offer and used the Grand Augur to be transformed into Toa. In need of Toa tools, the Toa then traveled to Detras' shop in Po-Powai, where Corduk adopted a large and heavy battle axe. In response to sightings of Ruthos in Le-Powai, Maroona split the team, leading Corduk, Detras, and Wreshi to the KCO. Expecting an attack, they were met with something similar, as Makuta Pretadix entered the tunnel system through the opened hole. Not aware that Corduk, Detras, and Wreshi were untrained, he only engaged in a quick argument before retreating. Due to Navahko injuring his ankle, the Toa were forced to regroup in Le-Powai. There, Corduk, Navahko, and Lewok discussed the Wraith Syndicate (which Pretadix had mentioned) and the mystery surrounding it. Later, the team responded to sirens blaring in the town of Obodosara, where Tetradon and the rest of the Wraith Syndicate were. After an argument between the two groups, Corduk charged toward Tetradon but was stricken and injected with his blood-venom. Overwhelmed by immense pain, Corduk was unable to retaliate any longer as his teammates were incapacitated. The Wraith Syndicate left, and Maroona transported him and the rest of the Toa to Vo-Powai to escape the Syndicate and recover. On the way to Vo-Powai, Corduk went into a brief comatose-like state which he stayed in for several days after the Toa arrived there. By the time he woke up, the effects of the venom had only begun to wear off, leaving him incredibly sore and unable to move much without pain. As he had considerable knowledge and experience in medicine, Lewok was given the responsibility of caring for Corduk and assisting his recovery. After several days, the venom had mostly worn off, leaving Corduk with only mild soreness upon moving. After recovering, Corduk soon found that Phi was approaching the Toa's makeshift camp. Fueled by vengeance over the seizure of the Staff of Vortices from the KCO, he immediately began to do battle with her. This alerted Navahko and Tesudin, who rushed to the scene, panicked. Tesudin used his Elemental powers to put Phi at a disadvantage while Navahko distracted her from Corduk. After Phi disappeared into the wilderness with Tesudin, Corduk and Navahko followed them, soon finding Tesudin, apparently fine. Suspicious, Corduk activated his Great Busanomen for the first time, finding that a normally undetectable frequency Tesudin emitted to be aware of his surroundings was not present. After finding other proof that Tesudin was not, in fact, Tesudin, he did battle with him, soon finding that he was actually Phi, using her Great Mask of Disguise to try and fool him and Navahko. He rendered her unconscious, confiscated her mask, and returned to the other Toa with her, Tesudin, and Navahko. Hunting the Syndicate On his way back to the Toa, he was confronted by Maroona, who began to berate him for his brash actions. He defended himself and argued with her before growing tired of her and simply moving along. Later, while attempting to use her Mask of Psychometry on Phi's mask to determine the whereabouts of the Wraith Syndicate, Maroona's mind was invaded by Pretadix. Corduk responded to the commotion and was met with fierce insults from the angered Toa of Lightning. Before Corduk could be driven to anger himself, Tesudin rendered her unconscious. By this point, Corduk and most of the other Toa had recovered from the incident in Obodosara. In a meeting with all of the Toa, Maroona reluctantly expressed her concerns and her fears of seeing herself and others get hurt. Opting to be more sympathetic, Corduk told her that he and the other Toa needed to get hurt if they were to become stronger. In his words, "a Toa who doesn’t get hurt hasn’t tried to do their job well enough." With the gap between him and his leader beginning to close, the team got on to planning their next move, which was to force the remaining members of the Wraith Syndicate off of the island. The Toa began their task by heading to Le-Powai where, after dropping Phi off at APNWT's doorstep, they used Salvina's Great Canera to find signs of the Syndicate. They eventually came across Tetradon's corpse, and discovered Ruthos, who allied with them and informed them that Tetradon's death was of Makuta Pretadix's doing. By following a trail of clues, the eventually came across Pretadix (who had apparently changed his name to Hysterix) and "Alchemist" in Vo-Powai. Using a modified piece of the Staff of Vortices, the Makuta sent "Alchemist" through a portal and into the KCO to steal the Mask Maker's Tool. After Hysterix was distracted, Corduk was able to enter the portal while it was still open, along with Navahko, Lewok, and Wreshi. In the tunnel, they soon came across "Alchemist". After Lewok stole the Mask Maker's Tool from him and bolted, Corduk began to do battle with the Dark Hunter but found himself outmatched. "Alchemist" created a chemical-induced wall of fire, separating him, Corduk, and Lewok from Navahko and Wreshi. He then began to give chase to Lewok, and Corduk pursued him. Before "Alchemist" could take it from him, however, he was called to come back to Vo-Powai by Hysterix and did as such. As Hysterix stretched his own hand into through the portal to steal the Tool himself Corduk grabbed onto it as a last-ditch effort to keep it from him. Fortunately for him, Maroona deactivated the device, closing the portal in on Hysterix's arm and subsequently trapping his body in its own pocket dimension. Deciding to become a full-time Toa, Corduk quit his work at the KCO, along with Navahko. Great Regression At some point, an air raid directed by the Brotherhood of Makuta was sent over Powai Nui. To prevent detection, he and five other Toa on his team hid in a pocket dimension using the Shrine of Salvation. They successfully avoided detection, however, the fear brought upon the island caused the population to scatter. The six Toa were not recovered from the Shrine until years later. Leskya-Powai War Sometime later, new Matoran arrived on Powai Nui, having escaped their home island of Leskya Nui several decades prior following its destruction at the hands of the Brotherhood of Makuta. They began to colonize the island, and after a bad first contact with the island's few natives who were not in hiding, they treated them as savages and acted with hostility. Navahko and Corduk were the first two Toa to be summoned from the Shrine by Maroona, and they helped defend her, Arvos, and Omakah against two hostile "colonist" Matoran, Merdana and Jeko. After Maroona used her Mask of Psychometry to find out more information about them, they were freed. The Matoran contacted their leader, the Toa of Air Vandir, who believed the incident to be a misunderstanding and went up to negotiate with the Powai Nuians. While there, however, the disembodied spirit of Hysterix entered his mind and caused him to fight Navahko and Corduk for a short time before retreating. Hysterix later began to meddle with the Shrine of Salvation, accidentally causing Corduk to spontaneously teleport between Powai Nui and its pocket dimension. Navahko was able to follow him into the pocket dimension, at which point the two discovered Wreshi, out of stasis and—unbeknownst to them—possessed by the spirit of Hysterix. The two did battle with him until they were transported back to Powai Nui. There, Hysterix left Wreshi's body and he recovered. Not knowing of Hysterix's involvement, Corduk went on to interrogate the Toa of Stone intensely and maintained a distrust for him from that point on. After Salvina and Lewok were summoned from the Shrine, they, Corduk, Navahko, and Wreshi traveled down to Lake Faradi to negotiate with the Leskya Nuian colonists while Detras stayed with Maroona to protect the Shrine. The Leskya Nuians saw the arrival of armed Toa as a threat and immediately began firing at them. Knowing that they would be chased if they retreated, the Toa chose to stand their ground and fight. During this fight, Hysterix's body was summoned from the Shrine, allowing him to repossess it, while the Mask of Catastrophes mutated Keelo into a Toa of Earth, Fire, and Lightning. Keelo's Empire Using his newfound power, Keelo overpowered the native Toa as he formed his own empire and began to conquer the sparsely populated island. Corduk was able to escape his wrath, along with Maroona, Salvina, Lewok, and Arvos. The five of them took refuge in the Aqueduct in Vo-Powai, taking the Shrine along with them. Lewok was sent on to Lake Faradi on a reconnaissance mission but was captured. Detras and Shensii later discovered the Aqueduct and joined the Toa in hiding. Soon, the base was discovered, and Vandir and Merdana (the latter now a Toa of Stone) were sent to spy on the Toa. Arvos alerted Maroona, and Corduk, Detras, and Salvina confronted and successfully fought off the hostile Toa. By Lewok's telepathic guidance, Navahko, Wreshi, and Omakah found the Aqueduct, where Wreshi tried to reconcile with Corduk to no avail. Jeko was later caught spying on the Toa, and it was from him that Maroona learned of a plan Keelo had developed. The plan would involve a duel between him and Detras, supposedly for the fate of the island, which would actually be trapped and would result in the Toa of Fire's death at the hands of a hidden firing squad. The Toa devised a plan to counter this duel, wherein Keelo would be placed in the Shrine of Salvation's pocket dimension and negotiations with the present firing squad would be attempted. This plan was set into action and worked up until Hysterix appeared, put Detras in the pocket dimension as well, and destroyed the Shrine, trapping him and Keelo in it. After gloating over how he had manipulated both the Leskya Nuians and the Powai Nuians, he used the Mask Maker's Tool to temporarily rob the powers of everyone present and began to do battle with the Toa. Corduk fought valiantly against the rogue Makuta but would have likely been severely injured or killed had Omakah and Shensii not stolen the Tool, leading Hysterix away from the battlefield. After Omakah sacrificed his life to severely wound Hysterix with the Tool, Maroona managed to ally with a majority of the Leskya Nuians; some left the island with Vandir and Merdana on the Horizon Breaker. With Detras absent, Maroona made Corduk the deputy of the Toa Powai. Like rest of the Toa Powai (who now included Hatar), Corduk helped to rebuild the island's community and infrastructure and was given a new set of armor, his set being the Tutorei Armor. His Earth Battle Axe was also upgraded into the Earth Switch-Axes. Description Forms Powers and Equipment As an Onu-Matoran, Corduk had dormant powers over the element of Earth, which manifested as increased strength and better vision in the darkness. When he became a Toa of Earth, Corduk gained full access to his Elemental abilities, allowing him to create, manipulate, and absorb most forms of dirt, soil, and mud. Using these powers, he could manifest earthquakes and tremors, break the ground to his liking, and summons constructs of earth. He was also very adept at using his mask in conjunction with his Elemental powers to sense things underneath the ground with impeccable accuracy. He preferred to use his abilities to trap his opponents or limit their movement so that he could make the most of his heavily close-quarters-based fighting style. Corduk wore a Great Kanohi Busanomen, the Mask of Sense, which manipulated his senses to allow him to detect things he was previously unable to detect. During his time as an Onu-Matoran working at the KCO, he carried a spear and an Axanar-based firearm. As a Toa, he wielded a large and hefty battle axe aptly named the Earth Battle Axe. When he was given the Tutorei Armor, he gained abilities similar to those granted by the Great Mask of Rebounding, allowing him to throw and retrieve his weapons with ease and thus increasing his mid- and long-range capabilities. His weapon itself was transformed into the Earth Switch-Axes, a pair of versatile tools whose heads could form either axe blades or large hooks. The ends of their handles could be combined, forming a long double-bladed polearm apt for spin-based attacking and blocking. Because of these changes, Corduk's fighting tactics changed over time to rely less on putting all of his momenta into an attack and instead in conserving momenta so that it could be built up after each attack. Owing to years of fighting, to defend both the tribal-era mines and the KCO, Corduk was proficient in various types of combat. He was the most skilled in hand-to-hand combat, but could also competently use various firearms or melee weapons. Personality and Traits Centuries of hardship, stress, failure, and victory chiseled Corduk into a character more brusque and outspoken than many other Toa of Earth. Where others of his Element would usually sit down and reflect after a strenuous task, Corduk would keep on going. Where others would choose to rest, he would find a way to push himself even further. Every second that wasn't spent moving toward something, in his eyes, was a second wasted. Because of his need for efficiency, Corduk was very straight-talking and honest, sometimes to a brutal extent. His vision of helping others primarily involved letting them know how they could improve, and as such he was always down to give constructive criticism. Unfortunately, he had a hard time figuring out exactly when not to give criticism, something which tended to quickly push more sensitive people away from him. Those who could withstand his evaluations for long were often those who, like him, were addicted to debate. Going along with his headstrong attitude, Corduk was not one to back down from a challenge. This trait accounted both for a strong sense of bravery that made him the Head Guard of the KCO and a competitive attitude that clouded his judgment and made him into somewhat of a hothead. He was stubborn, especially in more emotional matters, and oftentimes what he thought were valid reasons for holding grudges against others were actually far more irrational and based in his locked-down emotions than he chose to believe. Appearances * The Feral Plains/Volume I - First appearance * The Feral Plains/Volume II * The Feral Plains/Volume III * The Feral Plains/Volume IV - Mentioned * The Feral Plains/Volume V * The Feral Plains/Volume VI * The Feral Plains/Volume VII * Against the Storm/Volume I * Against the Storm/Volume II * Against the Storm/Volume III * Against the Storm/Volume IV * Against the Storm/Volume V * Against the Storm/Volume VI Trivia * Corduk's Tutorei Armor was named after the Tutorei, a species of extinct bird of which no remains have been found that are depicted in the Citadel of the Avesians. He chose this name to reference the birds' rumored ability to bring discarded or dropped objects back to them with seemingly telekinetic abilities, referencing the abilities the armor gave him. Cap derived the name of both the Armor and the bird from "Tutorea", a Basque word meaning "Guardian". * Along with Maroona and Navahko, Corduk has, thus far, appeared in every volume of the two major stories (TFP and AtS) Cap has written. * Corduk was inspired by the song "Uprising" by the English rock band Muse and has been since before his inclusion in TFP. This contributed both to an earlier idea for him to wear a Mask of Rebellion, which would make enemies side with him, and to his current personality. For these reasons, the song acts as a theme song for him, making him one of Cap's only characters to have much of a theme song. * A very early version of Corduk long predating his transfer to the wiki was a Makuta rather than a Toa. After doing battle with the other Toa, he was converted to their side and inexplicably transformed into a Toa of Earth. This is likely the reason for his red-and-black color scheme. * While writing the first half of TFP, Cap slated for Lewok to be the third-in-command of the Toa Powai. Because he wanted Corduk to be a more important character than he had been in the past, however, he gave him the role, instead. This decision had a massive impact on his personality. Category:Toa of Earth Category:Toa Category:Earth Category:Toa Powai Category:Onu-Matoran Category:Matoran Category:Powai Nui Governing Coalition Category:Powai Nuians